vouvoyer

Vouvoyer is a French verb meaning to address someone with the second-person plural pronoun vous rather than tu. This choice signals formality, politeness, distance, or respect; the opposite is tutoyer, which uses tu and indicates familiarity or closeness. Vouvoyer is a social convention rather than a fixed rule, varying across contexts, regions, and relationships.

Usage varies: in formal settings such as public administration, business, education, and customer service, the default is vous. Among friends, family, or peers, tu is common. Transitions between vous and tu can reflect changing relationships or shifting norms. Regional and cultural differences exist within the Francophone world; some workplaces preserve vous with clients, others encourage less formal address as norms evolve.

Grammatical notes: Vouvoyer is a transitive verb used with a person: on me vouvoie; il vouvoie les clients. It is conjugated like other verbs in -oyer. Present indicative forms are: je vouvoie, tu vouvoies, il vouvoie, nous vouvoyons, vous vouvoyez, ils vouvoient. The past participle is vouvoyé; the noun describing the practice is vouvoiement.

Examples: Le serveur me vouvoie, car il s’adresse à moi avec vous. Dans ce cabinet, on me vouvoie par défaut. Le vouvoiement peut aussi être perçu comme une marque de professionnalisme ou de respect dans les échanges formels. See also tutoyer; vouvoiement is the counterpart form.